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Chronic Non-bacterial Osteomyelitis: A Review

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Abstract

Chronic non-bacterial osteomyelitis (CNO) is a rare auto-inflammatory bone disorder, with a prevalence of around one in a million patients. In the more severe form, it is referred to as chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO). We present the current knowledge on epidemiology, pathophysiology as well as diagnostic options and treatment regimens. CNO/CRMO most commonly affects children and lesions are often seen in the metaphyseal plates of the long bones, but cases have been described affecting all age groups as well as lesions in almost every bone. It is, therefore, a disease that clinicians can encounter in many different settings. Diagnosis is mainly a matter of exclusion from differential diagnoses such as bacterial osteomyelitis and cancer. Magnetic resonance imaging is the best radiological method for diagnosis coupled with a low-grade inflammation and a history of recurring episodes. Treatment is based on case reports and consists of alleviating symptoms with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs since the disease is often self-limiting. Recently, more active treatments using either bisphosphonates or biological treatment are becoming more common, to prevent long term bone damage. In general, due to its rarity, much remains unclear regarding CNO/CRMO. We review the known literature on CNO/CRMO and propose areas of interest as well as possible ways to make current diagnostic criteria more detailed. We also find unifocal cases of the jaw to be a possible sub-type that may need its own set of criteria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone-metabolic Research Unit, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Kristian Buch, Anne Cathrine Baun Thuesen, Charlotte Brøns & Peter Schwarz

  2. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Peter Schwarz

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  1. Kristian Buch
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  2. Anne Cathrine Baun Thuesen
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  4. Peter Schwarz
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KB, PS decided the review content and prepared the first draft of the paper. They are guarantors. KB and ACBT did the literature search and recommended the papers to be evaluated. All authors contributed in reading and writing sections of the review and all authors revised the paper critically for intellectual content and approved the final version. All authors agree to be accountable for the work and to ensure that any questions relating to the accuracy and integrity of the paper are investigated and properly resolved.

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Correspondence to Peter Schwarz.

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Buch, K., Thuesen, A.C.B., Brøns, C. et al. Chronic Non-bacterial Osteomyelitis: A Review. Calcif Tissue Int 104, 544–553 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-018-0495-0

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